Bitter
by guacomole-is-dead
Summary: Twenty years ago Edward left for good, leaving Bella resentful. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything in this story other than the plot, Yvonne Jose, Katherine Jose and Sen. Const. Lance Pushe.

**Bitter**

I still find it hard to wake up in the mornings knowing that he won't be there. He won't be at the house, he won't be in our clearing, he won't be anywhere.

"_We need to leave."_

"_Why?"_

"_We've been here too long- people will soon start to wonder why we don't look any older than we did three years ago."_

"_What about the change-over? Are you doing that before we get to the new place?"_

"_No, Bella."_

"_You're already decided?"_

"_I am, Bella."_

"_This all sounds so final."_

"_Well, it is, really."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I'm leaving, Bella. I'm going away."_

"_You mean we're going away?"_

"_No, I'm going away. I can't jeopardise your life because I was stupid enough to fall in love with you. I've already done that enough."_

"_Do you love me?"_

"_Of course I do."_

"_Then why are you leaving?"_

"_I'm leaving _because_ I love you."_

"_No you're not. If you loved me you'd know that without you I'll die."_

"_You're just being melodramatic."_

"_No I'm not. Last time you left me, I nearly did die."_

"_Last time was different."_

"_How? You told me it was for my good, but it wasn't. You're running away from me, Edward."_

"_I'm not running away! I'm leaving for your safety and for the safety of my family."_

"_You're angry?"_

"_Not angry. Just... just frustrated."_

"_Because I won't let you leave without giving me a decent explanation?" _

"_Bella, I've given you a decent explanation, and I'm leaving."_

"_Fine. When are you going."_

"_Tomorrow. Midday."_

"_Where are you moving to?"_

"_Out of Washington."_

"_I didn't know there was such a place as 'Out of Washington'."_

"_Stop this, Bella."_

"_Stop what?"_

"_The bitterness. The resentment. I can't help it."_

"_You could take me with you,"_

"_No I couldn't."_

"_Will I ever see you again?"_

"_Of course. I'll visit."_

"_You don't mean that. You're going out of the state, for Christ's sake."_

"_I'll try."_

"_Not hard enough. If you tried hard enough you wouldn't have to come visit me because I'd be with you."_

"_Bella, that's unfair."_

"_Well, that's not my fault."_

"_Goodbye Bella."_

"_Do I get a kiss?"_

"_I don't think so. That would be a bad idea."_

He left, despite the fact that he said he would never leave me again. Apparently, he and the rest of the Cullens went to Phoenix. I've searched all over my old hometown, looking for any trace of them or where they moved on to. All I found was a newspaper article about the disappearance of seventeen-year-old Yvonne Jose after being seen in the company of Edward Cullen.

'_A seventeen-year-old girl has gone missing from her neighbourhood in the early hours of Tuesday afternoon. The girl, Yvonne Jose, was last seen in the company of a neighbour, Edward Cullen. _

_According to others in the neighbourhood, Jose and Cullen were very close, and spent much of their time out of school together._

"_They were always down at the park, or in the mall," says neighbour Samantha Derwent. "They were in love, I'd say, the way they related to each other. Perfect." _

_Jose, a student at the local school, was very popular and had a great deal of friends, but she spent most of her time with Cullen, says her mother, Katherine Jose. "She was so popular; she knew everyone in her year and was friends with most of them. But when that dear Edward came along, she was always in his company; whenever she could find some spare time she'd be with him. It can't have been him, but whoever did this to my family and my daughter ought to be locked up forever."_

_The local police are treating the case as a kidnapping/suspicious disappearance, and are asking anyone who has information to step up, says Sen. Const. Lance Pushe._

"_This is a very unusual case, and we are looking for all the leads we can find. Whoever was involved in this disappearance has covered their traces very well, so any information would be greatly appreciated. The last person to see Yvonne before her disappearance is, obviously, the main suspect, but we can't rule out others' involvement."_

_Cullen is to be submitted to questioning later this week._

_Anyone with information should visit the police station to make a statement.'_

There was another article, stating that Edward Cullen had been charged with kidnapping and wilful murder, but was then acquitted through trial. Yvonne Jose's body was never found.

In twenty years, he hasn't visited, nor has he called. Not to say he's sorry, not even to say that he didn't really love me. And I'm still bitter, still resentful.


End file.
